Imagine this scene: you go to the salon, photo of what you want in hand, optimistic about a new look. You discuss it with the stylist, take off your glasses and let her go to work. She finishes, and as you put your glasses back on you realize that it was not only not what you asked for, but hideous. How on earth are you going to live with this haircut? This happened to me recently, and I've been learning how to deal with it. If your haircut was a long one you could always go to another stylist elsewhere to fix it, but my hairstyle was very short, and there wasn't a whole lot of room left to fix anything.

Step one, don't panic. Go home and attempt to style the hair. Perhaps you can get a reasonable facsimile of what you were looking for with a little extra effort. Often the stylist gives you a blowout and you're not totally satisfied with what you received until you can get home and play with it yourself. See what you can do. If you can't replicate what you originally wanted, try styling your new coif in a different way that you can at least live with until it grows out. And your hair, eventually, will grow out. And Tom, if you're reading this, yes, I hated your hair in The DaVinci Code. But you work hard for your craft, and I understand the sacrifice you made. Carry on.

If it is so hideous that you are counting the days until you can get it re-styled, there are a few tricks of the trade that will make your hair grow longer. One method is to do what Marsha Brady would do - 100 brushstrokes a day. This will stimulate the scalp and follicles, promoting quicker growth. If you're concerned with having no hair left to style after such a rigorous brushing regimen, I'd say you'd have to do it for a very long time to see any baldness effects. A short stint of frequent brushing won't do permanent damage. However, if it's already a concern, invest in a scalp massager. You can buy this one online at Amazon, or a local spa shop. It looks like a torture device, but it does wonders for stimulating the scalp and follicles, and from what I understand, also promotes thinning hair to grow in thicker. Although I don't have the scientific evidence for the stimulation phenomenon, a local stylist told me to notice that most people's hair grows faster in the summer. In the winter we're more likely to throw a hat over our hair, or tie it up in a bun. In the summer we tend to spend more time on our hair, promoting the scalp stimulation we're looking for.

If that doesn't help, just keep in mind that your hair is just one aspect of your look, and with panache and some well-placed product, you might be able to turn that strange hair cut into a phenomenal fashion trend.